Engine starter gearing



Oct. 7, 194 1. 5 w JONES 2,258,455

ENGINE STARTER GEARING Filed June 22, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENT OR.

ATTORNEY.

Oct. 7, 1941. E. w.- JONES ENGINE STARTER GEARING 'Filed June 22, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. BY fl/urr w. clan/es Oct. 7, 1941. 5. w. MES L 2,258,455

ENGINE STARTER GEARING Filed June 22, 1940 s Sheets-Sheet s 5;: g 32 $17G 6 i l 5 36 4 II (Q 41 51 5 5 17 5 I z -i: Mm

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Patented Oct. 7, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I I 2,258,455 l ENGINE STARTER GEARING Burr W. Jones, Elmira, Heights, N. Y., assigilor to Bendix Aviation Corporation, South Bend, Ind., acorporation 01:: Delaware Application June22, 1940, Serial No. 341,917

11 Claims. (Cl; 74-6) Thepresent invention relates to engine starter gearingand more particularly to manually shift,- able gearingior connecting a starting motor to a member of an engine to be started.

.Itis an object. ofthel present invention to rovide a novel starter gear which is efficient and reliable in operation whilebeing small in size and economical in construction. 1v

It is another objectto proifride such a device in which a pinion is moved manually into and out of engagement with a member of an engine to be started, and a positive clutch is engaged for rotating the pinion after the pinion is moved into engagement with the engine member.

It is another object to provide such a device in which centrifugal means are employed to hold the clutch open when the engine starts.

It is another object to provide such a device incorporating means for insuring proper engagement of the pinion and engine gear.

It is another object to provide such a device inwhich closure of the clutch is effected prior to energization of the starting motor.

It is another object to provide such a devicein which control of the clutch is effected jointly by the manual and centrifugal means.

i It is another object to provide such a device in which the connection of the gearing to the motor is so arranged as topermit the use of a short motor shaft subject to a small amount of maohining, and correspondingly economical to manufacture.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a starter gear embodying a preferred form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the parts in cranking position; I

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the parts in the positions assumed when the engine fires and overruns the starting motor.

Fig. 5 is a detail in perspective of the driving clutch member;

Fig. 6 is a detail in perspective of the driven clutch member and coupling thimble shown disassembled;

Fig. '7 is a detail in perspective of the barrel and pinion members shown disassembled and partly broken away; U i Fig. 8 is a view similarto Fig. 1 showing the po'sitions'oi" the parts in case of tooth abutment between the pinion andengine gear during the meshing" movement of the pinion;

Fig. 9 is a view similar toFig. 1 showing an alternative form of centrifugal clutch controlling mechanism; v

Fig. 10 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 11 is a section'taken substantially" on th line Hl I of Figure 9;

, Fig. 12 is a view. similar to Fig. 9 showing the parts'inthe positions assumed during overrunning of the pinion when the engine starts; and

Fig. 13 is a detail in perspective of the. centrif ugally operatedcam means for opening. the drive clutch, the parts being shown in disassembled relation. i i V In Fig. 1 of the drawings there is illustrated a power shaft I which maybe the extended armae ture shaft of ;a starting motor, not illustrated. A.

pinion- 2 is slidably jOum Hea on the power shaft for movement into andou't of mesh with a member such as a flywheel gear 3 of an engine to be started. A driving clutch member 4 is fiiied on the power shaft l in any suitable manner as by forming flats 5 on the shaft cooperating with a corresponding opening in the clutch member,

with retainih rih flt preventing longitudinal movement of the clutch member.

A flange member 1 rigidly mounted ths; pinion 2 in any suitable manner as'indicated at 8, and a barrel member 9 is rigidly mounted in the flange member Tasb'y' means of lugs ll riveted or welded'in openings l2 in said flange (Fig. '7). A coupling t ini iefls (Fig. 6) is slidably mounted in the barrel :9 and is provided with radial lugs l4 traversing long'itudinal slots l5 the'barrel in ord r to spline the t himb-le tothe' barrel. A shiftcollar I6 is slidably mounted on the exterior of the barrel in overlapping relation with the flangeiiieihb'er i beiiig' retained n the barrel by means-of a split lock ring 11. A spring 18' in the form. of a dished annulus is interposed between the shift collar 16 and the ends of the lugs M of thimble I3, and a secondspring I9 is interposed between said lugs: and the flange member'! whereby/longitudinal movement or the shift collar by any" conventional shifting means is' yieldably' transmitted to the thinible l3 and to the pinion 2.. i i i A driven clutch member 2! (Fig. 6) is splined in the thimble ['3 as by means of lugs 22 traversing slots 23 in said thimble. 'A dished disc spring 24 is mounted in the thimble I 3 and connected for longitudinal movement therewith as by means of a shou1'der25 and a lock ring 26 in the thimble engaging the opposite sides of the disc. The inner periphery of the disc is connected to the driven clutch member 2| by suitable means such as a thimble 21 riveted as indicated at 28 to the center of the driven clutch member whereby the driven clutch member is yieldably connected by the disc spring 24 for longitudinal movement with the thimble l3.

Centrifugal means for deflecting the spring 24 in order to assist the withdrawal of the driven clutch member 2| from engagement with the driving clutch member 4, is provided in the form of weight members 29 fixed as indicated at 3| to the disc member 24 and operative under the influence of centrifugal force to flatten the disc as shown in Fig. 4 to cause disengagement of the clutch members.

In the operation of this embodiment of the invention, starting with the parts in the positions illustrated in Fig. 1, movement of the shift collar I6 to the left by any conventional form of manually or magnetically operable shifting means moves the pinion 2 into engagement with the engine gear 3 and the driven clutch member 2| into engagement with the driving clutch member 4 as illustrated in Fig. 3. The starting switch is thereupon closed in the conventional manner to cause rotation of the power shaft l which is transmitted through clutch members 4, 2|, barrel 9 and flange member I to the pinion 2 whereby the engine member 3 is rotated to crank the engine. When the engine starts, the acceleration of the engine gear 3 causes the pinion 2 to overrun the power shaft whereby the clutch member 2| is caused to back away from the clutch member 4 due to the inclination of the backs of the clutch teeth as shown at 32. At the same time, centrifugal force acting on the weight members 29 causes the disc spring 24 to be flattened, thus completing the disengagement of the clutch member 2| from the clutch member 4 and holding the clutch members disengaged as long as the rapid rotation of the pinion 2 continues. Since the clutch members are thus completely disengaged, it will be understood that the overrunning action takes place quietly without any ratcheting action. When the shift collar I6 is returned to idle position and the pinion 2 is no longer rotated by the engine gear 3, the starting switch is opened in the usual manner and the parts re-assume their normal positions.

In case, during the meshing movement, a tooth of the pinion abuts against a tooth of the engine gear as illustrated in Fig. 8, the spring I9 compresses and permits the shifting movement of the collar IE to continue until the driven clutch member 2| engages the driving clutch. member 4, after which closure of the starting switch causes rotation of the pinion to index it into proper registry with the engine gear, whereupon the spring l9 expands and snaps the pinion into mesh with the engine gear and cranking takes place as above described.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 9 to 13, the parts are in general the same as in the first embodiment of the invention and are similarly numbered. Instead of the disc spring 24 for connecting the driven clutch member 2| to the thimble l3, however, in this embodiment of the invention a coil spring 34 is mounted in a thimble |3a seated against a shoulder |3b therein and bearing against the driven clutch member 2| a. A cam member 35 is slidably mounted in clutch member 2| a in position to cooperate with the rounded head of a pin 36 mounted in the end of the power shaft Centrifugal means for moving the cam member 35 radially is provided in the form of a weight member 31 riveted as shown at 38 to the cam member 35 and normally held in a position to centralize the cam member by means of a spring 39. When so centralized as indicated in Fig. 9, the cam member receives the head of the pin 36 in a socket 4|, thus permitting the driven clutch member 2| a to engage the driving clutch member 4. When the cam member 35 is moved radially by the centrifugal weight 3'|, however, the driven clutch member is cammed out of engagement with the driving clutch member.

The operation of this embodiment of the invention is substantially the same as the previous embodiment, the centrifugal means 35, 31 serving to maintain the clutch members disengaged during the overrunning of the gearing, and returning to normal position when the gearing is disengaged and the starting motor permitted to come to rest.

Although but two embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail, it will be understood that other embodiments are possible and various changes may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts Without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. In a starter gear, a power shaft, a pinion slidably journalled thereon, a driving clutch member fixed on the shaft, a driven clutch member, means connecting the driven clutch member and the pinion for rotation in unison, manually operable means for sliding the driven clutch member into engagement with the driving clutch member and the pinion into engagement with a member of an engine to be started, and centrifugal means rotatable with the driven clutch member for holding it out of engagement with the driving clutch member.

2. Starter gearing for internal combustion engines including a power shaft, a pinion slidably journalled thereon, a driving clutch member fixed to the power shaft, a driven clutch member, means connecting the driven clutch member and the pinion for rotation in unison while permitting. relative longitudinal movement thereof, means.

for moving the pinion longitudinally into mesh with a member of the engine to be started and for moving the driven clutch member into engagement with the driving clutch member, and centrifugal means for disengaging the clutch members.

3. Starter gearing for internal combustion engines including a power shaft, a pinion slidably journalled thereon, a driving clutch member fixed to the power shaft, a driven clutch member, means connecting the driven clutch member and the pinion for rotation in unison While permitting relative longitudinal movement thereof, and manually operable means for shifting the pinion and driven clutch member into operative position,

the shifting means for the pinion including a connection adapted to yield in case the movement of the pinion is obstructed in order to permit engagement of the clutch members.

4. Starter gearing for internal combustion engines including a power shaft, a pinion slidably journalled thereon, a driving clutch member fixed to the power shaft, a driven clutch member, means connecting the driven clutch member and the pinion for rotation in unison while permitting relative longitudinal movement thereof, and manually operable means for shifting the pinion and driven clutch member into operative position, the shifting means for the driven clutch member including a spring member adapted to yield in case the engaging movement of the clutch member is obstructed.

5. Starter gearing for internal combustion engines including a pinion movable into and out of engagement with a member of an engine to be started, a driving clutch member, a driven clutch member connected to rotate the pinion, manually operable means for shifting the pinion and driven clutch member into operative position, and centrifugal means for holding the driven clutch member out of engagement with the driving clutch member, the manual shifting means including a spring member adapted to yield to permit disengagement of the clutch members.

6. Starter gearing for internal combustion engines including a pinion movable into and out of engagement with a member of an engine to be started, a driving clutch member, a driven clutch member, means including a barrel member connecting the pinion for rotation with the driven clutch member, manually operable means for shifting the pinion into engagement with the engine member and the driven clutch member into engagement with the driving clutch member,

and centrifugal means rotatable with the barrel 7 member for withdrawing the driven clutch member from its engagement with the driving clutch member.

7. In an engine starter, a power shaft, a driving clutch member fixed thereon, a pinion slidably journalled on the power shaft, a barrel member rigidly connected to the pinion, a driven clutch member in the barrel, means connecting the driven clutch member and the barrel for rotation in unison while permitting relative longitudinal movement thereof, manually operable means for shifting the barrel along the shaft, and a longitudinally yielding connection between the barrel and driven clutch member.

8. In an engine starter, a power shaft, a driving clutch member fixed thereon, a pinion slidably journalled on the power shaft, a barrel member rigidly connected to the pinion, a driven clutch member in the barrel, means connecting the driven clutch member and the barrel for rotation in unison while permitting relative longitudinal movement thereof, manually operable means for shifting the barrel along the shaft, means including a, spring member for shifting the driven clutch member with the barrel, and centrifugal means for holding the driven clutch member out of engagement with the driving clutch member.

9. A starter gear for internal combustion engines including a power shaft, a driving clutch member fixed thereto, a pinion slidably journalled on the power shaft for movement into and out of engagement with a member of the engine to be started, a barrel member rigidly connected to the pinion, a coupling thimble connected to rotate with the barrel in position to abut the driving clutch member when the pinion is in driving position, a driven clutch member splined to the coupling thimble, and yielding means pressing the driven clutch member into engagement with the driving clutch member when the coupling thimble is in abutting relation therewith.

10. A starter, gear for internal combustion engines including a power shaft, a driving clutch member fixed thereto, a pinion slidably journalled on the power shaft for movement into and out of engagement with a member of the engine to be started, a barrel member rigidly connected to the pinion, a coupling thimble connected to rotate with the barrel in position to abut the driving clutch member when the pinion is in driving position, a driven clutch member splined to the coupling thimble, a spring pressing the driven clutch member into engagement with the driving clutch member when the coupling thimble is in abutting relation therewith, and centrifugal means for retracting the spring and holding the driven clutch member out of engagement with the driving clutch member.

11. A starter gear for internal combustion engines including a power shaft, a driving clutch member fixed thereto, a pinion slidably journalled on the power shaft for movement into and out of engagement with a member of the engine to be started, a barrel member rigidly connected to the pinion, manually operable means for shifting the barrel and pinion on the shaft, a coupling thimble splined to the barrel, yielding means normally holding the thimble in position to abut the driving clutch member when the pinion is in driving position, a driven clutch member splined to the coupling thimble, a dished annular spring member pressing the driven clutch member into engagement with the driving clutch member when the coupling thimble is in abutting relation therewith, and a weight member fixed to the side of the spring member operative by centrifugal force to deflect the spring member in a direction to retract the driven clutch member from engagement with the driving clutch member.

BURR W. JONES. 

